{"id":14617,"date":"2021-10-10T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guru.com\/blog\/?p=14617"},"modified":"2021-10-28T10:14:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T10:14:34","slug":"what-is-a-business-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Business Goal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish in a period of time. It can pertain to the business as a whole, a specific department or project. It may have to do with employees or customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever its nature, it sets a general direction for the company. Though business goals aren\u2019t generally specific, they should be measurable and realistic\u2014things that the company can work toward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Goal vs. Business Objective<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some people use the terms business goals and business objectives interchangeably. The two are different, but they often work together to achieve a company\u2019s desired outcomes. While business goals are broad targets that define the what<\/em>, business objectives are the how<\/em> or the specific and measurable steps that a business can take to achieve its goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types of Business Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Companies rarely just have one goal. At certain milestones, businesses can add new business goals or change old ones that have already been achieved. To know what kind of business goals to set, it\u2019s helpful to know the different types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-Based Goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Time-based goals are based on a set period of time. These can be long-term, stretching out over months or even years; or short-term, lasting only a few weeks, months, or a quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-term goals are usually defined at the founding of the company, i.e., the ones written in a business plan. Meanwhile, short-term goals are the steps that a company takes to achieve its long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance-Based Goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Performance-based goals are dependent on specific tasks and processes. They\u2019re great to use to evaluate employee performance and to see if workflows are returning their intended results. Examples of performance-based goals include specific marketing campaigns, hiring new employees (or retaining existing ones), and efficiency of operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quantitative and Qualitative Goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Quantitative goals are the easiest goals to measure because they use data such as numbers and statistics. Common examples of these include profit targets or user acquisition goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualitative goals, on the other hand, are more difficult to define because they are subjective and can encompass broader criteria, such as how audiences react to a product a business is selling. If setting qualitative goals, it\u2019s important to be specific about how they will be measured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Importance of Business Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With both existing and in creation of a new business<\/a>, setting business goals is important for three main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Measure Success<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Companies should always be growing, and setting goals encourages businesses to constantly improve and innovate. The success of a business can also be measured by comparing its progress with its goals. When the two don\u2019t correlate, it\u2019s a good sign that some changes need to be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Define Objectives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can pinpoint what needs to be done without tying it to an expected outcome. Setting business goals helps companies pinpoint and track relevant objectives to reach their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Align Teams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When managers and employees are aligned about a company\u2019s goals, it\u2019s easier to be focused and motivated about working toward them. Being aligned with a common purpose also helps steer decision-making because the rationale behind every move can be justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Set Business Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Defining business goals starts with a clear understanding of your company\u2019s purpose. From there, owners and managers can establish the outcomes your business hopes to achieve in the future, whether soon or in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a broad target has been defined, you can set, assign, and measure SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives that get you closer to the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to map out business goals to direct your company and employees in the same direction. When you have a plan laid out and everyone\u2019s on board, goals become much easier to reach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish in a period of time. It can pertain to the business as a whole, a specific department or project. It may have to do with employees or customers.  Whatever its nature, it sets a general direction for the company. Though<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":14634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,437],"tags":[465],"class_list":{"0":"post-14617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-employer","8":"category-resources","9":"tag-business-development"},"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is a Business Goal?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is a Business Goal?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guru Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guru Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guru Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55\"},\"headline\":\"What Is a Business Goal?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\"},\"wordCount\":644,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Business Development\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Employer\",\"Resources\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\",\"name\":\"What Is a Business Goal?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55\"},\"description\":\"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1600,\"caption\":\"What Is a Business Goal\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is a Business Goal?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Helping you work Your Way - Guru Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55\",\"name\":\"Guru Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/177f4420872955784327af85d8264ba2e072d910fbf91a394fd4403f42fc1757?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/177f4420872955784327af85d8264ba2e072d910fbf91a394fd4403f42fc1757?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guru Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/author\/gurustaff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is a Business Goal?","description":"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is a Business Goal?","og_description":"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.","og_url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Guru Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guru Staff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/"},"author":{"name":"Guru Staff","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55"},"headline":"What Is a Business Goal?","datePublished":"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/"},"wordCount":644,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","keywords":["Business Development"],"articleSection":["Employer","Resources"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/","url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/","name":"What Is a Business Goal?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-10T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-28T10:14:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55"},"description":"A business goal is a broad outcome that a company hopes or expects to accomplish ina period of time. Learn about types of business goals and why they're important in this article.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","width":2400,"height":1600,"caption":"What Is a Business Goal"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-goal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is a Business Goal?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/","name":"","description":"Helping you work Your Way - Guru Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b9e9d9f55a3fcafaed8640391114a55","name":"Guru Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/177f4420872955784327af85d8264ba2e072d910fbf91a394fd4403f42fc1757?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/177f4420872955784327af85d8264ba2e072d910fbf91a394fd4403f42fc1757?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guru Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/author\/gurustaff\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/what-is-a-business-goal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14617"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14852,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14617\/revisions\/14852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qa-wp.guru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}